Powerful quake hits Guatemala, killing at least 48 SAN MARCOS, Guatemala (AP) — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Guatemala on Wednesday, killing at least 48 people in two states as it toppled thick adobe walls, shook huge landslides down onto highways, and sent terrified villagers streaming into the streets of this idyllic mountain town near the border with Mexico. One hundred people were missing, and hundreds were injured. The quake, which hit at 10:35 a.m. in the midst of the work day, caus...

Britain: Obama victory an opportunity for Syria BEIRUT (AP) — Britain called on the U.S. and other allies Wednesday to do more to shape the Syrian opposition into a coherent force, saying the re-election of President Barack Obama is an opportunity for the world to take stronger action to end the deadlocked civil war. Also Wednesday, Turkey said NATO members — including the United States — have discussed using Patriot missiles along the Syrian border. It was unclear whether the purpose was t...

Puerto Rico vote endorses statehood with asterisk SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Ricans have supported U.S. statehood in a vote that jubilant members of the pro-statehood party say is the strongest sign yet that the Caribbean island territory is on the road to losing its second-class status. But Tuesday’s vote comes with an asterisk and an imposing political reality: The island remains bitterly divided over its relationship to the United States and many question the validity of this week...

EU: Eurozone recession to be worse, rebound slower BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe’s economy is still reeling and unemployment could remain high for years despite the progress made in solving the debt crisis, the European Union warned Wednesday, as it downgraded next year’s forecasts for the 27-country bloc. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Wednesday revised down its forecast for the region’s gross domestic product, which it now expects to grow by just 0.4 percent in 2013, compa...

Suicide bombing kills 5 in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A police officer says a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan has killed five people, including three policemen. Asif Iqbal says the attack Wednesday targeted the vehicle of a senior police officer outside a police station in a crowded market in the city of Peshawar. The blast killed the senior officer, two other policemen and two bystanders. The bombing also wounded 20 people. No group has claimed responsibility for ...

Syria envoy warns country could turn into Somalia BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria warned Tuesday that the country could become another Somalia — where al-Qaida-linked militants and warlords battled for decades after the ouster of a dictator — if the civil war is not ended soon. Battles between regime forces and Syrian rebels left more than 140 people dead across Syria on Tuesday, while the brother of Syria’s parliament speaker was gunned down in Damascus — the latest victim...

Intrigue swirls around Russia defense chief’s fall MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin fired his powerful defense chief over a corruption scandal Tuesday, but a heady mix of sex, power struggles and military vendettas dominated talk in Russia about what was really behind the downfall of the man who has overseen the nation’s most radical defense reform in decades. The dismissal of Anatoly Serdyukov was a surprise because the burly politician was widely regarded as having the president’s blessing for a...

China hauls away activists in congress crackdown BEIJING (AP) — During her 30-hour train journey to Beijing, Wang Xiulan ducked into bathrooms whenever the conductors checked IDs. Later, as she lay low in the outskirts of the capital, unidentified men caught her in a nighttime raid and hauled her to a police station. She assumed a fake identity to get away, and is now in hiding again. Wang’s not a criminal. She’s a petitioner. She’s among many people attempting to bring local complaints dire...

US college student stabbed in Rome after party ROME (AP) — A U.S. student at an American university in Rome was stabbed about 25 times by a fellow student as he slept following Halloween night partying at a club and is hospitalized in serious condition, police said Thursday. The alleged assailant, an American-born student with both U.S. and Italian citizenship, was arrested early Thursday in a Rome apartment near the Colosseum and will likely face a court appearance on Friday, police said....

Syria rebels kill 78 soldiers, attack checkpoints BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels killed 78 soldiers on Thursday, about half of them in attacks on military checkpoints in the north just hours after a wave of bombings hit the Damascus area, activists said. The unusually high toll for regime forces came after days of intense air bombardment of rebel positions around the country that killed hundreds more. Anti-regime activists say President Bashar Assad’s regime has been making even heavier use than...

Internet rolls into Bangladesh villages on a bike HARABARSHA, Bangladesh (AP) — Amina Begum had never seen a computer until a few years ago, but now she’s on Skype regularly with her husband. A woman on a bicycle brings the Internet to her. Dozens of “Info Ladies” bike into remote Bangladeshi villages with laptops and Internet connections, helping tens of thousands of people — especially women — get everything from government services to chats with distant loved ones. It’s a vital service in ...

Syrians wary of US push to overhaul opposition BEIRUT (AP) — Members of Syria’s opposition-in-exile bristled Thursday at the Obama administration’s suggestion that Washington will handpick more representative leaders at a crucial conference in Qatar next week. The new U.S. push appears aimed at creating a unified leadership that could work more closely with the West. But there are signs of resistance among deeply fractured opposition groups wary of attempts by foreign backers to dictate st...

Hit by crisis, Greek society in free-fall ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A sign taped to a wall in an Athens hospital appealed for civility from patients. “The doctors on duty have been unpaid since May,” it read, “Please respect their work.” Patients and their relatives glanced up briefly and moved on, hardened to such messages of gloom. In a country where about 1,000 people lose their jobs each day, legions more are still employed but haven’t seen a paycheck in months. What used to be an ano...

Putin lays low, spokesman’s reasons seem odd MOSCOW (AP) — What ails Vladimir Putin? The Russian leader whose image of physical vigor is key to his success has canceled several foreign trips in recent weeks, postponed his annual live televised question-and-answer session with average Russians, and has rarely left his suburban residence outside Moscow. A respected Russian newspaper claimed Thursday that a publicity stunt during which Putin tried to lead cranes on their migratory paths in ...

State says go home and sleep, 24/7 Egypt resists CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s capital prides itself on being city that never sleeps, with crowds filling cafes and shops open into till the small hours. So, the government is facing a backlash from businesses and the public as it vows to impose new nationwide rules closing stores and restaurants early. Officials say the step is necessary to conserve electricity in a nation buckling under economic crisis and fuel shortages. But the decision has a strong...

China think tank urges gov’t to end 1-child policy BEIJING (AP) — A government think tank is urging Chinese leaders to start phasing out China’s one-child policy immediately and allow two children for every family by 2015, a daring proposal to do away with the unpopular policy. Some demographers see the timeline put forward by the China Development Research Foundation as a bold move by the body close to the central leadership. Others warn that the gradual approach, if implemented, would still ...

Syria presses heavy air bombardment of rebels BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian warplanes fired missiles at opposition strongholds around Damascus and in the north on Wednesday as Turkey, a key backer of the anti-regime rebels, appeared to distance itself from an earlier call to impose a no-fly zone. The Syrian regime has intensified airstrikes in recent days following the failure of a U.N.-backed holiday truce over a four-day holiday that never took hold. Activists said at least 110 people were kille...

Greece outlines new austerity as debt load rises ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government on Wednesday outlined the new austerity measures it intends to take over the next two years, a series of painful spending cuts and tax hikes that its international bailout creditors are demanding in exchange for rescue loans. The country’s finance minister also submitted a revised draft budget for 2013, with figures predicting the debt load will increase sharply as the recession deepens into a sixth st...

Mammograms: For 1 life saved, 3 women overtreated LONDON (AP) — Breast cancer screening for women over 50 saves lives, an independent panel in Britain has concluded, confirming findings in U.S. and other studies. But that screening comes with a cost: The review found that for every life saved, roughly three other women were overdiagnosed, meaning they were unnecessarily treated for a cancer that would never have threatened their lives. The expert panel was commissioned by Cancer Research U.K....

Syria activists report 23 dead in Damascus suburb BEIRUT (AP) — Airstrikes by Syrian jets and shells from tanks leveled a neighborhood in a restive city near the capital of Damascus on Tuesday, killing 18 people, and at least five rebel fighters died nearby in clashes with regime troops, activists said. The airstrikes on the city of Douma, northeast of the capital, left residents scampering over a huge expanse of rubble and using their hands to dig up mangled bodies, according to activist vid...